The present invention relates to a golf club and more particularly to a golf club which includes a non-metallic or polymer filled cavity at the juncture formed between the shaft and the club head.
As the sport of golf increases in popularity and competition within the golfing industry also grows, it has become increasingly important for golf club manufacturers to improve and enhance the playability of their clubs through new design innovations and the application of current technology. These playability enhancements typically involve design attributes which provide for more forgiving or more powerful club characteristics that ultimately lead to improved hitting distance, and/or improved ball control and accuracy.
While there have been numerous design innovations through the years, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,447,307 and 5,056,788 for example, which propose to alter the mechanical characteristics of a golf club and subsequently improve swing efficiency by preferentially distributing mass towards the rear portion of the club head, of particular significance and relevance to the present invention is U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,409. As such, U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,409 discloses a golf club design that incorporates a penetration or open cavity in or about the junction region formed between the shaft and club head. This club design serves to provide an enlarged sweet spot, which in turn acts to improve the accuracy and consistency of the golfer""s swing. While the above mentioned club design may improve a golfer""s accuracy and consistency to some measurable degree, there remains the possibility of further improvement through the reduction of high-energy vibrations which are often established within the body of a club and subsequently transmitted to the golfer during the course of a ball-impacting swing. Such vibrations are indicative of a less than ideal transfer of energy from the club to the ball, and consequently represent an inefficiency in the club.
Therefore there is and continues to be a need for a golf club which provides the golfer with improved accuracy and consistency, while simultaneously reducing or eliminating energy transfer inefficiencies related to vibrations which are established within the club head during the ball impact portion of a club swing.
The present invention entails a golf club that includes a non-metallic insert incorporated into the head of the golf club for dampening vibrations that are directed through the golf club. More particularly, the golf club includes a face and a hosel extending adjacent one side of the face. Formed between the hosel and the face is an area that is generally referred to as a juncture region. Formed in this juncture region is a cavity that receives and holds the non-metallic insert.
Various types of materials can be used for the non-metallic insert. For example, these materials may include epoxy, polymers, rubber materials and viscoelastic materials in general.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a golf club having a non-metallic insert dampener formed in the juncture region of the club head for dampening vibration transmitted from the face of the club through the juncture region to the hosel in response to the head impacting a golf ball.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and obvious from a study of the following description and the accompanying drawings which are merely illustrative of such invention.